Lightning Strikes and Heavy Rain in California, May 31, 2002

Name: Lightning Strikes and Heavy Rain in California, May 31, 2002
Start: 2002-05-31T21:25
End: 2002-05-31T23:30
Location: California

May 31, 2002 · NWS HNX · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

01" within a 21-minute time period totally flooded local streets and intersections. an infrequent occurrence for the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

Localized heavy rain at the Hanford Airport of 1.01" within a 21-minute time period totally flooded local streets and intersections. Despite heavy rain being highly localized (known locations at Hanford, Armona, Avenal, downtown Fresno, and Piedra area of Fresno County), lightning activity with this event was widespread, long-lasting, and very visual...an infrequent occurrence for the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley. There were 260 lightning strikes between just 1900 and 2000 PST through the Central and South San Joaquin Valley...and that activity continued to just after midnight PST as a band of convection moved north through Kings County and into Fresno County. A trained spotter reported lightning at the rate of 5-6 flashes/second around 2100 PST in the Pine Flat Reservoir location near Piedra.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 8:15 PM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 8:15 PM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
915 PM PDT FRI MAY 31 2002

UPPER LOW ALONG THE SOCAL COAST WAS TRACKING E-NE AT AROUND 20 KTS
THIS EVE...AND RUC APPEARS ON TRACK SHOWING LOW WEAKENING INTO AN
OPEN WAVE AND LIFTING ACROSS THE KERN MTNS/DESERTS LATE TONIGHT.
CAPE HAS BEGUN TO DECREASE OVER THE CWA WITH LOSS OF SURFACE
HEATING...AND DEEPER CONVECTION WAS DIMINISHING. GIVEN TRAJECTORY OF
LOW...WILL MAINTAIN POPS ACROSS MANY AREAS IN THE DISTRICT
OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER WILL MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO CLOUD COVER WORDING
GIVEN ROTATION OF COOLER TOPS AROUND CIRCULATION AND SOME DRIER AIR
MOVING INTO FAR SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA.

OTHER ERN PAC TROUGH WAS MOVING INSIDE 130W THIS EVE AND ONSHORE
GRADS HAVE RESPONDED WITH SFO-SAC APPROACHING 4 MB AND MARINE LAYER
DEPTH NEAR 2K FEET. WILL THEREFORE ALSO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO
WINDS IN SJ VALLEY AND KERN MTN/DESERT ZONES.

.HNX...NONE.

JSN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 lightning, 2 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Kings

When: May 31, 9:25 PM PST
Where: Kings County, Avenal
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Kings

When: May 31, 9:49 PM PST to 10:10 PM PST
Where: Kings County, Hanford Muni Arpt
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Kings

When: May 31, 10:15 PM PST
Where: Kings County, 1 mi SSW of Hanford Muni Arpt
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Kings

When: May 31, 10:17 PM PST
Where: Kings County, 7 mi N of Hanford
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 36.075, -119.815 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Fresno

When: May 31, 10:30 PM PST to 11:30 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, Fresno
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, May 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5290865, 5290863, 5290866, 5290867, 5290864.